67on44s

Alrighty guys. I normally just search here and dont post, but......
every weekend I take my 4runner out and trail ride, climb hills, a little mud bogging, alot of river crossing...etc. anyway I had an incident this past weekend that I would like to bring up. My buddy got his 87 chevy stuck in a pretty big hole... his 4wd broke, and he had some worn buckshots.. anyway it took us along time to get him out.. I do not like chains, they are heavy, expensive, they get caked up with mud, rust... and they break~ I carry a tow strap with me at all times and it has never broken. It was like 30 bucks, its lights, one dip in the river and its clean.. its great. Well this hole was big, and the strap was not long enough, so I added a buddies chain to one end.... No big deal. on the second pull the chain snapped (it was a big chain) and the first thing I realized was something fly across the hair on the side of my head, It sounded like a machine gun going down the driver side of my truck... Im a body man, so I spent all day today doing body work.... and the chain took out my driver rear quarter glass. Everywhere the chain hit, massive damage was left behind.. and where the strap hit (which is obviously stronger than the weekest link in the chain) I was able to buff the light marks out...

The reason I thought I should mention this, is that there were 3 of my best friends there, 3 girls, and one 4year old boy.. If that chain would have hit anyone we would have been most definatley going to hospital. I believe a direct hit would have killed one of them... I have always feared a chain break, but this could have been bad... if you could only see what it did to the metal on my 4runner...

A strap is cheap, light, easy to clean, and very strong if you get a good one... and in the event it does break, there is no damage.....

just my .02 cents

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Invest in a winch and additional or longer tow straps.

CJM

A nice clevis is a good idea to use to join 2 tow straps. I have used one before and it worked great.

thefallman

I agree with you about most of it but you have to also understand that the reason the chain went flying wasn't because of the chain. Chain is to heavy to fly far, with the tension it is under to break. It will almost always hit the ground with in a few feet. Still possible to take a leg out but it wont do unrepairable damage usually. a cable is a completely deffernt story it will kill you faster then you can say S.H.I.T. if seen cable break its nasty.

But back to the point the reason the chain flew is because of the rubber band effect of the strap you had hooked it too. It yanked the chain back with much more force then there would have been there, if it was just chain. Its part of the reason straps work better then chains they streach to a certian point and then once the stuck vehicle starts moving they multiply the force by contracting. A chain wont do that.

btw ive seen just about everything break straps, rope, chain, cable. you name it we've used it an broke it. the 2 worst things to break though are cable and straps its a combination of the tension they are under when they do break. which is usually way more, and the length. ive been hit by breaking straps, rope and chain. I'll tell ya id rather be hit by the chain. its moving way way slower when it hits you.

now in your case i wouldnt have wanted to get hit by that chain cause it was moving at the speed a broken strap would be moving at not a broken chain. Betcha the guy on the other end didnt have near the damage to his rig did he.